the Depot of Boelus

Boelus Depot ca. 1965 in it’s later days

The NSRC Granted permission to the U. P. on Feb. 27, 1967, to discontinue its agent and to close its station at Boelus.

According to Jim McPhillips of Grand Island, the depot was purchased by his late mother with the intention of remodeling it into a residence. However, she passed away before this endeavor could be realized. The depot was moved by the Williams Brothers House movers from Hastings in Oct., 1968 (?)

As of July 1979, the depot remained unaltered, with the building still sporting the yellow and brown U.P. paint scheme. Interior partitions remained as they were. One Boelus signboard remained on the depot’s east end. McPhillips thought his mother had given the other one to an uncle.

The depot was being leased to a friend of McPhillips, who was using it for storage. McPhillips said the depot outhouses (men and women) were acquired at the same time as the depot, and they were relocated to a near-by farm. Considering the depots’s close proximity to the road, the structure is one of the stations in the state whose relocation is generally known to the public.

The last day of service by an agent at the Boelus U. P. depot was on March 27, 1967.

Boelus Depot in 1997

According to an undated (mid 1960’s) item from the Grand Island Independent it was noted that the Boelus UP depot still did not have electricity installed in it. Lighting was provided by a kerosene lamp which hung in the agent’s office. The article, by Jack Bailey, noted that until a year ago, heat to the depot was provided by pot bellied stove.

A gas heater for the depot was installed at that time. At the time of the article, Leo Schritt of G.I. was serving as relief agent at Boelus. Starting with UP in 1957, Schritt said in the article that he had worked 21 depots so far, but that this was the only one without electric lighting. He said he had never had need of electric lighting since trains passed through boelus only during daylight now.

We are continuing to research further information about this and other depots and the communities they served. If you have any information you would like to share about this depot, community, or any other piece of Howard County history, please contact us, we would enjoy speaking with you.